It’s one thing to hold on to any car for 47 years without selling it. It’s another entirely to keep a Shelby Cobra for that long while waves of replicas flooded the streets and then prices for original CSX-numbered cars shoot through the roof. Yet that’s what one Kansas doctor did, and it’s only with his passing that his Cobra will appear at The Branson Auction this weekend in Branson, Missouri.

Ed Johnson bought a Shelby 289 Cobra, CSX2305, at Broadway Ford in Kansas City in 1964 and never let it go. The Johnson County, Kansas, Medical Examiner, Ed Johnson raced, autocrossed and later toured in the Cobra, which will be auctioned including trophies, documents, books, badges and clippings associated with the car. Auction host Jim Cox told us that Johnson was probably a better autocrosser than racer, but he earned trophies in both disciplines.

While the Branson Auction does not normally share estimates for their lots, Cox believes that Doc Johnson’s Cobra should fetch between $450,000 and $600,000, believing it is in “better condition than other 289 Cobras sold the past six to nine months.”

It’s certainly not every day that a one-owner Cobra pops up for sale. And short of Carroll Shelby’s personal cars, this might have been the second-longest held one-owner Cobra, after the one owned by jazz great Herbie Hancock, who used his 260 Cobra as a daily driver from 1963 through 1990.

Another intriguing car to be offered at the annual southwestern Missouri auction is a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, which the auction house bills as one of three numbers-matching Hemi four-speed Daytonas. Considering that those four words in the same auction sentence – Hemi, four-speed, and Daytona – usually cause bidders to get all worked up, this lot promises to draw a lot of attention.

Along with that one-of-three-with-matching-numbers provenance, this car is also claimed to be the most optioned in existence with power windows, power steering, tinted windows, the A34 Super Trac-Pac (which included the super low 4.10 Dana 60 rear differential) and even an 8-track player, among other options.

Branson Auction will send another 1969 Hemi car across the block. This matching-numbers 1969 Plymouth GTX is not only one of 98 four-speed Hemi models, it also has a very interesting race history – and not the typical drag strip kind. Roger Jensen set a class record in the car at 195.86 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Restored in the early 1990s to its original condition, the GTX was recently removed from a museum in California.

Just 59 Hemi Road Runners were produced in 1971 and two are being auctioned at Branson this weekend. One is a numbers matching automatic car that also includes all of its original documentation: the window sticker, original broadcast, purchase contract, warranty papers and even a full ownership history back the original dealership. The auction catalog lists it as the first 1971 Hemi Road Runner produced.

Although not numbers matching, the other 1971 Hemi Road Runner features a correct four-speed transmission and 426 Hemi as it had been delivered from the factory. Its 24,000 miles showing on the odometer are also believed to be correct.

For fans of pre-war muscle, little can top this over-the-top 1931 Marmon Sixteen. Featuring a whopping 491-cubic-inch V-16, this close-coupled sedan is one of 68 known survivors according to the auction house. Featuring a design by Walter Dorwin Teague, Jr, then an MIT student moonlighting for his father’s renowned industrial design studio, the body was manufactured by LeBaron.

If you’d like something a little more obscure, Branson Auctions will have a Peerless GT, the fiberglass-bodied British 2 + 2 built largely around Triumph mechanicals.

For Crosley fans – we know you’re out there – how about a 21-passenger Crosley? Okay, that includes the driver and 20 kids on this hook and ladder “fire truck.” Originally built as an amusement park ride from a converted Crosley truck, this one has been restored.

While the big block, fat fendered Cobras hold a high place in automotive history, the 289′s win my heart every time I see one. There’s something about the clean lines of the standard body with wire knockoffs, and wood steering wheel … What a sports car should look like.

While 427s seem to have become the definitive Cobra and the model for virtually all replicas, they are a bit cartoonish. The 289 (and the AC Ace it was based on) just hits all the right notes for me, too.

Yeah, ditto guys. There’s just something about the slabside that says FAST and SO COOL. About 19 years ago I had the chance to ride in a real small block and a real big block one right after the other. My friend owned them both. We took rides through the hills of Woodstock Amazing. Even though the big block was fast and mean looking. The small block which had Webers blew me away! So friggin’ quick and nimble. That’s my choice. For me it’s the small block if I had a choice between the two.

I owned a ’69 (same color combo as the one here) when it was only two years old. I never approached 195mph, BUT ran it over 123mph a couple times. VERY SCARY (but fun) ride at that speed! This car was so light in the front end (even with the 426) and so aerodynamically insecure (even with after market shocks) it would litterally FLY making steering control hazardous. But I also owned a 66 Mustang 2+2 289 that was even worse at speeds in the 60 to 70 mph range. Those were the days!

I’ve seen the Watermelon Man Cobra, and this one looks as though it’s in better condition. The chrome wires on the Hancock car are a bit rusty and there’s some less than stellar bodywork. Herbie’s is a 260 two-barrel, and the badge on the hood had not yet evolved into the snaky theme we know today.

Those early 289 Cobras are Real Beauties and this
one is Perfect .
I also thought that 195 + MPH sounds
frighting in one of these boxy 1960 cars although I was in 1 at a 130 MPH although I believe it was the Dodge version and cared not to do it again . All the Big Factory Cars from this period had No Handling or Braking Capabilities .

NICE ! Driven many cars, being in the Vehicle Collision Industry, 70 Hemi ‘Cuda, 69 Shelby GT350, 67 289 AC-Cobra, 66 427-425 Conv Corvette, 69 Jag XKE, 67 Tiger and goes on. Worked on these and more. ALWAYS remember The SNAKES, suspension upgrades to help handle 60′s power and sloppy steering. My 69 Chevelle with a 427-425 and have made some corrections to stiffin suspension, steering, reduce body roll. Happy to say, much better, but not the same as my 08 300C SRT8. 40 years of technology makes a big difference. Going to Las Vegas next year and while my wife is working, I’m headed NE to The Carrol Shelby Museum, who knows. Maybe I could get a Ride back down Memory Lane! PS My 1ST car a ‘Fairlane.

that’s right,all go,no whoa! my older brother had a ’69 super bee he got new.we were going down our road one night & he said the speedo was bouncing off 130. but i’m sure it was off as it was’nt certified like a cop car.

Daniel, My brother bought a brand neww GTX convertible in 1968.It was green with a white bucket seat interior and white top.He loaded it with options including a four speed.The car ran very well but it was literally falling apart at the seams.It shook violently over the smallest of bumps and pieces of the interior trim started to fall off.After less than a year the car felt like a beat up heap.He took a loss and traded it in for a new 69 GTO.That car was the complete opposite.He was happy.

I still have a 1966 Polara that i’ve owned since 1976, drove it once at 135 according to the speedo, not the most scary driving because i was young, but close, drove to Kansas City and Oklahoma the week before last, on the interstate from Wyoming, now that was scary towing a camper, people just have no clue how to drive anymore, or have better things to do that pay attention while driving a 4,000 LB missile.

The seemingly weird combination of light metallic blue exterior and red leather interior seems like something an owner did later, and yet I’ve seen two period photos of a Cobra 289 in the same colors, one in front of the Venice, CA factory. This has always been my favorite model and car, period.